Page 9 of Shameless With Him
“Watching your red meat intake?”
“Hey, I’m thirty. I should.”
“I thought that’s what they said at forty?”
“Apparently, thirty is the new forty and all that.”
“I thought it worked the opposite way,” she said with a laugh. We traded some of our meals. I moaned when I took a bite of the steak.
I missed red meat. My doctor said I needed to be careful, hence why I had moved from Alaska to Denver in the first place. And why I was no longer working out on the line at the new construction job, but rather running it from behind the scenes, and mostly on my tablet from behind a desk.
I was damn good at my job, but sometimes I missed working with my hands like I used to.
However, it was hard to do that when I wasn’t sure what was coming.
“Well…I, for one, am glad that you’re back in Denver,” Robin said, grinning. “I think we went on a date what, ten years ago or so? When we were babies.”
I snorted. “We were babies. We’re completely different people now.”
“That’s good. Either that or you’ve gone through all of the women on the western hemisphere and now you have to circle back. Which isn’t so good.”
I almost choked on my water and shook my head. “I’m not that bad.”
“You are. Except you never string anyone along. You’re exactly who you say you are.”
I frowned. “And what am I, exactly?”
Robin shook her head. “Nothing bad. Please don’t take it badly. I’m ruining this. All I meant is that anyone going on a date with you knows it’s not going to be serious. And no one goes in trying to change you. If they do, then they’re in for a rude awakening.”
I looked down at my fish and played with the fork in my hand. “I didn’t realize I was that predictable.”
“Oh, shush. I’m just as predictable. I haven’t had a serious relationship in the ten years since we’ve seen each other. In fact, I’ve been so focused on work, it was a surprise that I was even at that bar when I saw you again. And now, coming out to dinner with you… We’re doing this lovely surf and turf thing, and we’re not going to ruin it by talking about serious things. Only happy stuff.”
I nodded and forced a smile. “Okay, I can do that.”
I grinned and let the disappointment seep from me. It wasn’t like I really wanted a serious relationship with Robin. I just didn’t like the fact that, apparently, it was tattooed on my forehead that I wasn’t the person one went to for a serious relationship. Maybe it was asking too much for me not to feel like a complete asshole. Or perhaps that was just who I was.
“Okay, other than going to that bar and working—and apparently trying not to walk out on me because I’m acting like an idiot—what do you do for fun these days, Caleb?”
I shook my head, pulling myself back to the conversation. “You’re not an idiot. Sorry. Apparently, I’m just grumpy.”
“Women love grumpy men, Caleb. You should know that.”
I gave her my best smirk. “Oh, that I do, darling.”
Her laughed trilled, and I just shook my head, joining her in the laughter.
“You really need to use that smirk on everyone. It does wonders.”
“Glad I could help.”
We talked about nothing, and that was fine. I wasn’t going home with her tonight, I hadn’t planned on it going in. It was simply nice being with another human when I didn’t have to sit at home and wonder about mortality and everything that came with life—or the lack thereof.
After we’d finished our meals, we paid the bill and went to the valet for our cars. We had met at the restaurant rather than me picking her up, and from the look on her face, I knew that she knew we weren’t going home together. I wasn’t in the mood, and it was clear that she’d figured that out on her own.
“This was nice, Caleb. Maybe we should do it again in ten years.”
“You really think you’re going to be single in ten years?” It was an honest question. Robin was a fantastic, talented, brilliant, and beautiful woman. She deserved happiness however it came.